This past weekend, my friends from Shanghai came to visit. I stayed with Tony and Jenni earlier in the summer for a week after landing in China, and in return I tried to show them a good time around Chongqing, now that I have my bearings.
After catching up a bit, we headed to Ciqikou, the old redeveloped part of Chongqing that's known to be touristy, or as my colleague here put it, "crowded, dirty, and not good." We didn't find it to be nearly that unpleasant, and actually had a pretty good time wandering around two of the main sites: the Zhong Residence and Baolun Temple.
We sort of accidentally visited the Zhong Residence, thinking at first that it was the Baolun Temple. Only realizing after we paid the 5 yuan apiece that it was not, we stayed to look around and it was pretty worthwhile. The Zhong Residence was built about 120 years ago, at the end of the Qing Dynasty. The residence used to have 46 rooms but only about 20 have been maintained, the ones that surround the central courtyard. Here are some photos.
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| The Courtyard of the Zhong Residence |
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| Some antique furniture |
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| Jenni photographing the ornate bed |
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| More furniture |
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| Can I have one of these awesome bed/rooms? |
We ultimately did make it to the Baolun Temple, which is considerably older than the Zhong Residence - built over 1000 years ago. Probably the oldest thing we have seen so far in China, even older than the
Dazu Caves! This temple manages to stay quietly separated from the snack shops, noodle shops, knick-knack shops, and hoards of people in Ciqikou.
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| Entrance to Baolun Temple |
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| Tony, Jenni and I, standing an appropriate distance from one another, given the intense heat of the day. |
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| We all were given some incense to burn at the main temple. Here are mine, pre-lighting. |
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| We weren't supposed to take photos inside the temple, but I loved this mural so much I broke the rules a little bit. |
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| Old + New |
Aside from seeing the temple and the residence, we also had a great time just walking around Ciqikou, despite the heat. It's a pretty neat area, definitely touristy, definitely crowded, but we very much enjoyed it.
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| Tony on a block of the neighborhood that seems exclusively dedicated to art. |
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| Sweet shop |
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| Spice shop |
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| Lucia, Jenni and Tony walking down the main drag of Ciqikou |
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| I guess it's a great idea to have a game with an actual bow and arrow in a super-crowded area, right? |
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| Under the highway on the Jialing River |
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